My 85 year old mother was involved in a car accident a few months ago. She enjoyed reading this and couldn't get to her computer while she was rehabbing so I just kind of lost interest. She's doing better now (thanks for asking).
Many of us will go through this type of thing with our parents, if you haven't already. It's a part of life, not really much you can do about it. It certainly can be a troubling look into our future though.
Ahhhh, future looking. We all do it. I find that it can make me anxious, plus I have so little control over what will happen. The old saying goes "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans."
And looking back into the past, well that can be a pleasant thing to do, sometimes. Too much of it can make you melancholy and a little sad. The past is something we can't change, only how we look at it.
Which leaves us with the present. It's all we really have. We should try to enjoy it.
Moving On
Anyhoo, enough with the existential bullshit. Let's talk about me. It's been a 10.5 months since I broke my hip. They told me at the beginning of this journey that I wouldn't be 100% until 12 months had passed. I scoffed at that, thinking I was way beyond the mere mortals that had gone before me. Well, they were right. I'm just now starting to build some muscle in the injured leg. I can jog a little but running isn't happening right now. Burpees? That ain't happening either. But I can ride my bike.
Riding
On the OMTP I switched from 50 mile to XC. Fools Gold had been my scheduled first race but I wimped out and decided to just stay in town and race the Gone Riding Florida Series race at Tom Brown. I get to race the 60+ class this year, in fact I can race any class I want (except maybe the women's). I can't say that I'm unhappy about not getting pummeled in the 50+ expert again.Even with all that banter (see above) about planning I need to have some kind of a carrot in front of me to keep me motivated. Racing at 60 years old may seem silly to some of you. I will give it up someday I suppose, I'm just not ready yet.
Bitching
Along those lines, I was browsing the MTBR forums and came across one for 50+ riders. Oh good! I thought, the first question was about training older riders, so I was anxious to see the replies, hoping to get some information on a subject that really interests me.
Alas, most of the responses were about why you couldn't (and shouldn't) train, injuries, and just general bitching about getting older. I don't do that do I? If you look back 4 paragraphs you can see that I do.
It taught me a lesson regarding what older athletes (yes I consider myself an athlete, regardless of what you think) present to the world.
The upside to this is that all you younger riders will have a path blazed for you as far as what you can and should do at 50, 60, and beyond. There just isn't much out there right now, and what is out there can be disheartening.
So when you ask me how I'm doing I'll just smile and say "fine".
